Harvesting lettuce isn't new. I've posted time and time again about the lettuce I've been harvesting this winter. I harvested lettuce in December. I harvested lettuce in January, and I harvested lettuce in February.
Last month, I also posted about my broccoli starting to flower. Well, the temperatures have dipped back down, so we are still harvesting broccoli. Although the heads are tiny, they're still delicious!
I even harvested a few Brussels sprouts. They melted in my mouth like butter! Yum!
The green peas are flowering - for the third time now. They flower, then get frozen. Again, and again. I'm hoping this time it won't freeze again! Not a good track record for growing green peas through the winter. Next time I'll plant them in late winter/early spring instead of in the fall.
So, what's new?
Well, if you look very, very closely, you can see the very first asparagus spear peeking out!
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| Boo! |
I decided to give growing asparagus a try - in a stock tank. The reason behind the stock tank (with holes drilled in the bottom) was twofold. First, hopefully they get the winter chill they need. That's the main reason asparagus is not grown here - not enough winter chill. Perhaps this will be a good solution to that problem.
And secondly, since they stay in the ground, I felt like this dedicated container would be a good way for me to remember not to dig them up.
And do you want to see something else that's new?
Look! I'm enlarging my vegetable garden! Wahoo! I love being able to harvest vegetables throughout the entire year. I've even talked a few strangers I've met here and there into starting their own vegetable garden! If you live in this area, you really should give growing vegetables a try. It's amazing how much you can harvest each month!
But, that was just the teaser. I'll dedicate an entire post to that project later. I'll tell all my tips and tricks. You'll see how easy it can be to make your own vegetable garden.
I'm joining The Gardening Blog for Garden Bloggers Harvest Day. Are you harvesting any vegetables this month?
Your great post is making my mouth water. It's almost fresh asparagus season - YUM. And Brussels sprouts - hooray! I don't grow a lot of vegetables anymore because I keep draggig home ornamental plants that take up my limited space. We're very lucky to have a lot of small organic growers in the area who it feels good t support. (That's my rationale for not growing my own veggies.)
ReplyDeleteI had to stick the vegetable garden right in the middle of the lawn. So much better than grass - and I'm hoping to put some ornamental beds around it! Sneaky way to get rid of more grass! :) I visit the local farmer's market here, but it's not open for very long in the summer, so I try to grow as much as I need otherwise.
DeleteWow....all your veges look delicious and how exciting to enlarge your vege bed. We have a large vege bed, but it's been so wet we haven't been able to get into it to do anything. We've got to get our lettuce into the ground soon, then in April we'll plant everything else!! Yummy!!
ReplyDeleteIt won't be long - and you'll have fresh vegetables! It has been extremely dry here - please send some of that rain my way! ;)
DeleteWow! That's fantastic! I didn't attempt a winter garden this year, even though it's my favorite time to grow vegetables. But I would have started late and the weather kept changing drastically. I salute you! Congratulations, too, on that new bed!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've actually had a winter bed, usually I procrastinate too long. But it was such a success, I think from now on it'll be my favorite time to grow vegetables - at least lettuce! :)
DeleteWonderful to be able to get veggies all Winter. Good luck with that asparagus. Good idea in the tank.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
I hope the tank works out as planned. One never knows. And I also worry that it'll be too hot for them in summer. That one little head poking up has given me hope, though!
DeleteAsparagus already? You are so lucky! The peas look great too. I look forward to reading more about your extended veggie plot.
ReplyDeleteI'm anxious to get the new beds finished and planted! The one bed I had was great, but too small really to do much, except for a few winter veggies.
DeleteHi Holley, I really admire your dedication to vegetable growing! The emerging asparagus looks so promising. I hope you get a good harvest! Enlarging your veggie garden sounds like a great move. Looking forward to seeing what produce you will grow in the new beds.
ReplyDeleteChristina
I'm excited about the new veggie beds. I buy a lot from the farmer's market, but I'm hoping to get as much as we need to eat otherwise with the new extension.
DeleteUp from our earth comes life!!! tasty
ReplyDeleteIt's always so thrilling to see the first little emerging stalks!
DeleteI have an old stock tank with a rusted through bottom that I use as a composting container. Maybe I could fill it with soil and asparagus roots. What a treat that would be!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it will work, but I thought I'd give it a try!
DeleteWow, growing vegetables outside in winter. Here we can just grow brussels sprouts in winter.
ReplyDeleteMmmm... I love Brussels sprouts! I wish I had planted much more!
DeleteAsparagus looks like it would be such fun to grow, if for no other reason than that it's exciting to see something else come up in spring--and something you can enjoy NOW rather than waiting weeks for it to bloom and bear!
ReplyDeleteI really do hope the asparagus turns out well. I love it, and you're right - something else to eat now instead of lettuce would be great!
DeleteAmazing what all you are able to grow in Texas... All of your veggies including the little Brussels Sprouts look fabulous. YUM... Hope it stays cool enough for awhile so that your asparagus makes it...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your veggie garden.
Hugs,
Betsy
I do wonder about the asparagus. It will be a fun experiment.
DeleteYou are so lucky to harvest lettuce through the winter. It gets too cold here but arugula and kale work.
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried growing arugula or kale. I don't care for kale, but my husband loves it. Maybe I'll give those a try next winter!
DeleteI would love to have a vegetable garden like yours, it looks bigger than the whole of my 60 m2 garden! At this time of year you really see the difference between Texas and London, we might live in similar hardiness zone, but here in London the daffodils haven't started to flower yet! No one would plant out lettuce yet, and seedlings are firmly placed indoors on windowsills.
ReplyDeleteI love asparagus, I have never tasted home grown before, only those bought in supermarket. I bet they are super tasty!
It is funny how areas in the same hardiness zone are so different. We are also the same zone as some in the Pacific Northwest - and what plants they can grow is very different than the ones we can here!
DeleteI will be curious how the asparagus will grow well in coming years. Good idea though. I agree on Brussel sprouts. They are so good home grown.
ReplyDeleteIt will be fun to see about the asparagus. I may end up using that stock tank for something different!
Deletelookin' good! Even if the asparagus don't work out, you can always stock it with fish, fatten them up then plant them for fertilizer ;)
ReplyDelete:) I actually know people that have fish solely for the fishy water - the plants love it!
DeleteI'm envious that your asparagus is already through! I planted a bed in autumn, I'm not entirely convinced they're worth a whole bed, time will tell. I have peas that I sowed in modules and I'm wondering if I should plant them out, we have very cold weather and maybe even snow forecast for next week - I can hardly believe it. Your new project looks amazing. Christina
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised about the snow forecast for you, too! I have just about given up on the peas here. Lesson learned!
DeleteO.. each time visiting your blog, wish I can hide into your whole of roses with beauty and your IRIS with so many grades and names.. Wonderful. I learnt more. Tks too putting a comment in my blog. Cheers...!
ReplyDeleteYour harvest of late made me only can "saliva". Haha!... Thanks God for giving you the green hands.
ReplyDeleteThose Brussels sprouts are my favorite - and make me salivate! :) They have always been one of my favorite vegetables, but growing my own are the tastiest (at least in my mind!).
DeleteThe asparagus tank is a genius idea! I might give it a try for some other things that need more winter cold than they would otherwise get here.
ReplyDeleteIn theory, it should work. Although, technically, they will also get hotter in it, too. Maybe not such a good thing after all!
DeleteHi Holley, I'm having the same problem with my peas-it was 75 degrees yesterday and it's in the mid 30's this morning. Even for South Mississippi this is crazy weather!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing the rest of your new garden beds. ~ Marsha
It has been crazy weather! So many ups and downs this year. If it just wouldn't freeze, I would be happy. It's those freezes after such warm days that make me upset.
DeleteNo vegetables to be harvested yet. It's snowing today. Our first really big snow storm. I am sitting here planning the vegetable garden, where everything will fit and trying to decide how many of each variety of tomato to grow. Snow coming down doesn't fit the spring mood though.
ReplyDeleteSnow! Oh, no! I guess a snowy day would be the perfect day to plan a new garden!
DeleteIt must be wonderful to be able to harvest your own vegetables throughout the year. The layout of the new beds looks terrific. Is that weed mat under the boxes?
ReplyDeleteYes, I have to have weed mat (learned that the hard way) because of the Bermuda grass we have here. It is such a nuisance, and almost impossible to get rid of!
DeleteLove the glimpse of the extension to the kitchen garden - will look forward to reading more! Had t laugh at the sneak/stealth approach to removing grass. Have had to agree to keeping about half of ours out the back, but we'll see, over the years I would be willing to bet that the boundaries expand somewhat... And am intrigued by container-grown asparagus, other half not a fan so haven't been able to justify it, but perhaps a suitable deep container with a modest number of spears...
ReplyDeleteI think the perfect plan here would be if I just had a few grass paths that I could easily pass a lawn mower over every now and then. Maybe in a few years I'll have enough beds - flower and vegetable - to have that happen!
DeleteOh you have a lovely vegetable garden, jealous of your asparagus. What I need to know more about are the brussel sprouts, mine only formed little heads and they aren't very firm - it was a new bed and the soil wasn't very good - maybe that was the issue!
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about Brussels sprouts, since this was the first year I've grown any. Mine have firm heads, even though they are still quite small. I do know that you need to harvest them before the leaves all turn yellow. Mine have leaves that are still nice and green, so I'm thinking the sprouts will continue to grow. And cut off the leaves from the bottom as the stalk grows, so the plant will put the energy into forming sprouts instead of into the leaves. Hope that helps! I don't know anything else!
DeleteAsparagus is one of those vegetables where being just picked really makes a difference. I love it brushed in olive oil and grilled, then a squeeze of lemon.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever had it out of a can? For years, I thought that was really asparagus! I couldn't stand it! I was shocked - shocked! - when I first tasted fresh asparagus. I couldn't believe how wonderful it was! And I'm really looking forward to seeing what it tastes like fresh picked!
DeleteI was cheering throughout your post....yipppeee!! Your garden is doing so well and to see you expand the veg garden i know you are addicted. I have increased mine every year. I do envy your being able to harvest year round.
ReplyDeleteThose vegetables do get addicting - it's so wonderful to go outside and pick dinner!
DeleteI love that you are able to harvest veggies year round...what a treat, and so many different kinds.
ReplyDeleteMy Sister has a Asparagus farm up here, and it's so delicious...when those first spears pop up from the ground then we know that spring is definitely here.
Jen
Oh, an asparagus farm! How fun! I bet it is adorable seeing all those spears sticking up out of the ground!
DeleteHi, Holley! I liked your new vegs garden, it's bigger and I'm sure you'll have good harvest throughout the year. I think it's a good idea to grow grasper in a tank, I'd like to see it in summer.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping it will do well in its own little tank. If not, well, it has been worth trying!
DeleteHolley - This is off-topic but I wanted to share it because it was news to me and might be to some of your readers.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.finegardening.com/item/26852/what-is-a-field-grown-own-root-rose-and-should-i-buy-it
Most hybrid tea roses are grafted. I buy mostly older varieties of roses, which are mostly on their own roots. But - in Florida - you have those nasty nematodes, and I believe grating on Fortuniana rootstock is mostly recommended. So, there's good and bad to both. But I do enjoy the own root roses, because I don't have to worry about the rootstock taking over.
DeleteWhat a delicious harvest you are getting! That's a great idea for asparagus - I don't grow them at the moment because I don't have a spot where I can just leave them alone all year. A container is a great solution! I'm loving all the early spring photos on your blog, they have come along at just the right time for me since it's bulb planting time here, and I'm reminded of what I should do if I want that much beauty in my own garden this spring!
ReplyDeleteBefore I put the asparagus in a container, I would plant them but they would always get tilled over. Now it's easy for me to remember not to touch them! I agree that seeing other gardens in different seasons can be very motivating! Maybe your blog will give me the motivation I need to plant bulbs this fall!
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